‘The Accountant 2’: Not the most epic of films but don’t write it off just yet

I had heard of the film, The Accountant released in 2016, but I did not see it before viewing The Accountant 2, directed by Gavin O’Connor and produced by Amazon MGM Studios. A worthy sequel with a lighter humorous tone, The Accountant 2 is an action/ thriller that is possible to understand without having seen the first feature and, more over, enjoy it – despite its actuary-like title.

I suspected to see typical mob bosses with their heavies and lots of violence and guns but not much depth. Indeed, The Accountant 2 has these formulaic tropes, however I was pleasantly surprised by the relationships between its characrers, mostly enjoying the male buddy chemistry between the two brothers played out by Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal. Without this familiarl relationship, I’d say, meh, don’t waste your time wtth this movie.

Affleck plays Christian Wolff, a dynamo mathematics savant with an affinity for numbers but certainly not people, uniquely combining genius level mathematic accounting skills with military combat skills. He is an inconspicuous contract accountant who sanitises fraudulent financial records for dangerous criminals and is willing to break the law, while adhering to his own moral code, which may require him to kill some “bad” guys along the way.

When an old trustworthy acquaintance is murdered, Wolff recruits his lethal hit-man brother Brax (Jon Bernthal) along with partnering with Deputy Director of Treasury Deparment, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), and together they unhinge a deadly conspiracy and become the targets of ruthless assassins and crime lords.

The charming Jon Bernthal, whom I loved in the series The Punisher, really steals the show with his lovable rogue hit-man who happens to like dogs and misses having a family connection with his older, introverted brother who he struggles to build an emotional bond with. The humour is at its best when the brothers’ playfully banter, trying to work each other out after reuniting after many years. Their modus operandi against the deadly criminal world, reveals how opposite they are in nature and lifestyles, in their quest to meet the job brief yet becoming anti-heroes which welcomes light comedic relief to the usual underlying violence.

While there is the expected uber violence action sequences with some Western style gun shoot outs, what makes these scenes better than most action films is the clever support via electronic means. Wolffe utilises his association with The Harbor Neuroscience Institute, a tech powerhouse hub of immediate live support that Wolff harnesses the power of “my people” a group of young highly skilled savants, to stay one step ahead of his enemies. A highlight is the scene where the group swiftly hack the system to infiltrate a civilian’s mobile photo taken at a crime scene to identify a lead, which is so cool, as the well-oiled crew operate at their slickest best, ultra quick and savvy, somewhat Bond style big brother having your back.

If you like action thrillers, and don’t mind violence and don’t expect anything new or stylistic from the director, then you might get a thrill from the light comedy action and buddy chemistry between two brothers: Bernthal who is so fun to watch and Affleck who pulls off his autistic bent, redeeming his acting in what is one his most likable performances since Dogma and Good Will Hunting.

Annette McCubbin

‘The Accountant 2’ is in cinemas now.